


Lean on Me

by AliFyre



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Awkward Romance, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Smut, Getting Together, Humor, M/M, Minor Injuries, Pining, Suga and Daichi are bad influences with good intentions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-04
Updated: 2016-01-09
Packaged: 2018-05-11 15:43:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5632036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AliFyre/pseuds/AliFyre
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Noya gets injured, which finally gives Asahi an excuse to take care of him instead of the other way around. However, with Noya constantly leaning on him for support and touching him (always freaking touching him), Asahi is having a harder and harder time keeping his feelings for Noya in check.</p><p>(In which Noya sprains his ankle, Asahi sucks at flirting, and Suga is probably not the best person to ask for romantic advice.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [yamaguchiu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/yamaguchiu/gifts).



The court fell silent as Nishinoya slammed into the ground: there wasn’t a soul in the gym who hadn’t heard that heavy thud and dull crack.

Noya was on the ground and he wasn’t moving, and no one seemed to know what to do because it was _Noya_ : the unstoppable guardian god who _never_ fell. There was a heavy pause, and then movement stirred as Noya shifted and tried to stand. All bodies on the court breathed a sigh of relief and began to shift back to their normal mode of operation -- Noya was functioning, he was getting back on his feet, and everything was going to be fine. Everybody except for Asahi that is, who was struck by the uncharacteristic uncertainty on Noya’s face as he hauled himself to his feet. He hadn’t seen Noya look anything less than perfectly confident since The Incident, and all of his instincts screamed at him to fix it. He couldn’t let Noya get hurt again.

 Without really thinking about it, Asahi darted forward and swung an arm around Noya’s waist just as the younger boy began to stagger under his own weight, one of his legs giving out beneath him. Asahi grunted a little at the sudden strain on his muscles as Noya collapsed onto his arm, his full weight dragging down on Asahi. The little whine of pain that sprang from Noya’s lips pushed Asahi even further into protective mode, and he swept Noya up into a bridal style hold and lowered him to the floor, kneeling at his side as he set him down gently. Only then did he look at Noya, who, much to his embarrassment was staring at him in open confusion, a slight flush coloring his cheeks. Asahi felt his own cheeks warm as he realized his arms were still cradling Noya’s back and legs, and he sprang backwards as if shocked. His skin tingled slightly where they’d been touching.

 “Are you okay?” Asahi blurted out. He was acutely aware of the heavy gaze of the rest of the rest of the team bearing down on the two of them, and he wanted nothing more than to disappear in that movement. Why did he have to be so big and noticeable?

 “Yeah, I’m fine Asahi-san,” Noya said, waving his arm at Asahi dismissively. Asahi frowned, unconvinced. There was still the faintest trace of a pained grimace on Noya’s face, and there was no denying that Noya had been unable to stand just now. His heart thudded in his chest, aching with concern for his libero.

“Are you sure?” Asahi asked, hesitating. Part of him wanted to move closer again and examine Noya for injuries, and part of him was still a little too shocked from the feeling of Noya’s skin on his own to move.

“Yeah! I’m always fine, don’t you worry! Check it, I’m fine!” Noya insisted, scrambling to get to his feet a second time. Asahi reached out with one hand before remembering that no, it wasn’t normal to steady people who claimed to be fine, especially not after having put Noya in a _bridal style carry_. He’d been embarrassing enough for one day.

Unfortunately for Asahi, the embarrassing moments of the day were far from over. Noya braced his hands against the ground and pushed himself up, only to have his ankle buckle beneath him and send him tumbling to the floor a third time -- right on top of Asahi. Asahi spluttered with surprise, doing his best not to squirm under Noya as his weight settled into Asahi’s chest and lap. The rest of the team had finally realized there was something amiss and crowded around them, peering down at Noya as they tried to figure out what was wrong. Noya looked back at Asahi, worry flashing in his eyes for a brief moment before his face split with a grin and he began to laugh.

“Ah man, don’t look so worried guys, I’m fine, seriously! Nothing to worry about, just a little unsteady on my feet!” Noya told them all, making wide, enthusiastic gestures with his arms that were reminiscent of his usual energetic self. However, Asahi could hear a faint strain in Noya’s voice and see the edge of hysteria in his movements. He wasn’t sure what was wrong with Noya, but the issue seemed to be more than physical. A seed of worry furled in his chest, combining with the normal affection he felt towards Noya and the strange heat that came from having Noya pressed against his body to send him into a heightened protective state. Not wanting to allow the situation to escalate, Asahi stood quickly, hooking an arm around Noya’s hip and lifting him along with him in a way that hopefully didn’t seem too obvious to the team.

“Hey Nishinoya, would you come to the sideline with me for a second? I think I jarred my wrist when you fell on me and I need your help taping it,” Asahi said, not dropping his arm from Noya’s waist. He looked around at the team, projecting his best pained face. Daichi sighed loudly and shook his head.

“Noya falls three times and _you’re_ the one who gets hurt,” he commented with all the exasperation of a father who’s tired of the antics of his over-energetic children. From behind him, Suga looked at the arm hooked around Noya’s waist and up at Asahi’s face with a knowing smirk. Asahi felt his cheeks color: Suga had always been a little too observant for Asahi’s liking, always able to tell when Asahi was hiding something or feeling down. Thus, Suga had known about Asahi’s crush on Noya since it had started, much to Asahi’s embarrassment. All Asahi could hope was that Suga’s fixation on Asahi would distract him from Noya until Asahi could figure out what was going on.

“I guess Asahi’s heart isn’t the only thing that’s fragile,” Noya quipped, drawing laughter from Tanaka and Daichi and weak protests from Asahi. “C’mon, let’s get you fixed up.” Noya turned to walk to the bench, and Asahi was almost not fast enough to keep holding him up. With Noya’s height, it was easy for Asahi to hold the shorter boy just above the ground so he put no weight on his feet as he walked, even if it did require them to walk with their sides pressed together. No one would make much fuss about it, Asahi, reasoned: Noya was jumping all over Asahi all the time (much to Asahi’s combined delight and embarrassment), more physical contact between them wasn’t surprising. It wasn’t surprising, no, but Asahi wished it didn’t feel so electrifying.

“What’s the matter?” Asahi hissed at Noya in a low voice as he sat them down on the bench, far enough away from the team to avoid being heard.

"I told you, nothing’s wrong!” Noya insisted. “What’s wrong with your wrist?”

“Oh, so if I go like this it won’t do anything?” Asahi asked, leaning down and prodding Noya’s left ankle with a finger. Noya visibly stiffened, and Asahi heard a low keen of pain in his throat. “Thought so,” he said, looking back at Noya with what he hoped was a properly triumphant expression. When he saw the panic on Noya’s face, however, any sense of victory quickly vanished in favor of nagging worry.

“Not in here,” Noya whispered. “Get me out of here and you can pester me all you want, just not in front of the team.”

“I’m not trying to pester you, Nishinoya,” Asahi told him with a frown. “I’m worried about you.”

“You don’t need to worry about me, can we just leave _please_?”

“Daichi, Suga! Noya seems to be under the impression I need to get my wrist looked at, can he come with me to the nurse?” Asahi shouted across the gym, wrapping his hand around Noya’s waist again and lifting them both to their feet.

“The nurse?” Suga asked, looking at them both with an evaluating gaze. He seemed to consider for a moment, and then smiled. “I don’t know if she’s still here, but you can go check!” His eyes then shifted specifically onto Noya. “You both take it easy, okay? You worked hard today. If the nurse isn’t here, you should go home and take a rest.” Brown eyes shifted to Asahi, and Asahi could feel the message behind the look. Asahi inhaled sharply: Suga _had_ noticed Noya’s mood, and was fully expecting Asahi to take care of it.

“Hey, if I have to come with you because you broke yourself, you should carry me!” Noya told Asahi loudly. Before Asahi could respond, Noya had leapt onto Asahi’s back and wrapped his arms and legs around Asahi’s torso. Asahi bent under the sudden weight, wheezing slightly as the force of Noya’s jump knocked the wind out of him.

“Go easy on him Noya,” Daichi cautioned as Asahi straightened and adjusted to carry Noya on his back. Noya only laughed as Asahi carried him out of the gym, struggling not to think about how nice it felt to have Noya pressed against him like this for the third time that day. This was about Noya right now, Asahi reminded himself. Images of Noya’s pained face on the gym floor, then his expression in the equipment room the day of the Dateko match coursed through his head. Asahi had put his own feelings ahead of Noya’s too much in the past, and we was determined to make that right.

“What was that about?” Asahi asked once they were far enough away from the gym, setting Noya down in the grass as carefully as he could. Noya didn’t respond. Instead, his hands flew to his ankle and he spat a few choice swear words to the wind. His face was screwed up in pain, and Asahi had to restrain himself from reaching out and rubbing soothing circles into Noya’s shoulder. Noya was physical with Asahi, but that was a Noya thing. Noya was touchy with everyone. Asahi’s own affections had no place here, especially not when Noya was hurt.

“Nishinoya, what’s the matter?”

“You can’t tell the team about this,” Noya said, gesturing to his ankle, which had attained a bluish hue and swollen to twice its normal size in the time it had taken them to get from the gym to here. Asahi shook his head in disbelief.

“They’re going to find out tomorrow when you can’t play,” Asahi told him. “Seriously, why are you going so far to hide this? There’s nothing wrong with--”

“Don’t say there’s nothing wrong with being injured!” Noya snapped, whipping his head around to glare at Asahi. Asahi recoiled, his expression faltering to betray the worry that was still buried in his chest. “The team needs me! I can’t let them down like this!”

"You’re not letting anyone down by being hurt,” Asahi said, still tense and leaning away from Noya. He knew the libero’s anger could get explosive, and he had no interest in trying to explain a black eye to Daichi.

"Yes I am!” Noya insisted. “I need to be there to make sure you all can look straight ahead! I need to make sure you’re all protected! I’m the team’s guardian! You need my strength! I can’t let you guys see me be weak like this.”

He wasn’t wrong, Asahi thought. The team _did_ rely on Noya’s indomitable spirit. But there was so much more than that, Asahi knew. “We rely on you, Noya, you’re right. But a team is more than one person. Don’t you rely on us, too?”

“Well yeah, but--”

“So then let yourself fall on our strength, okay? You’ve given us enough resolve to last a lifetime, we can afford to give you a little back. Take your time to heal, and rely on us for now, okay?” Asahi said, fondness in his eyes as he looked down at Noya.

Noya looked at Asahi with his head cocked and one eyebrow raised. “When did you get all smart, Asahi-san?”

Asahi wasn’t sure if he should be offended or touched by the question, so he just chuckled. “I remember someone said that I shouldn’t be selfish and give up on myself once. That meant that I was supposed to rely on the people around me, and remember that their strength contributed to mine, and that I had to be my best for them as much as myself. It was pretty good advice, and I figured it would be worth paying forward.”

Noya gaped at him for a few moments before socking him in the arm. “You’re not allowed to use my own words against me, Asahi-san!”

“Too late,” Asahi said with a soft laugh. “Let me take a look at your ankle.”

“No! It’s fine!” Noya insisted, drawing his leg back towards himself.

“Hey Noya, if you’re gonna let yourself rely on others, that includes me,” Asahi reminded him gently. He held out a hand, his heart pounding with hope. Half of this was selfish: he wanted to take care of Noya, wanted to be able to give Noya the affection he always wanted to give without it being weird or unnecessary. The other half knew that Noya needed to learn as much as he had that it was ok to draw on others’ strength. “You don’t have to go things alone. I… I can be strong too, and I can help prop you up just like you help me.” Noya huffed, and Asahi thought (hoped?) he saw his cheeks redden a little as he kicked out his injured leg and lowered it gingerly into Asahi’s outstretched palm. Asahi cradled Noya’s foot in one hand and examined it with the other, pressing and twisting gently to check for range of motion and any possible breaks.

“That fucking hurts, Asahi-san,” Noya grumbled as Asahi gently turned his foot to one side, seeing how far it would go. Asahi looked up at him, his expression apologetic.

“I’m sorry, I just want to see how bad it is! I should probably take you to the doctor,” Asahi said. “It doesn’t seem to be broken, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“Asahi-san, are you my mom?” Noya teased with a faint laugh. There was pain in his voice, which made it hard for Asahi to take the teasing lightly.

“If that’s what it’ll take for you to let me take you to the doctor, I guess I can be maternal,” Asahi replied, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. Mother was pretty much the furthest thing he wanted to be to Noya, but he had to remember the priority here. Noya’s feelings, not his own.

Noya groaned and buried his face in his hands. “You’re so weird Asahi-san. How are we even going to get to the doctor?”

“I’ll carry you, of course. There’s a clinic about half a mile away,” Asahi said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Noya barked a genuine laugh at that, and Asahi’s heart unclenched a little to see a real smile on the libero’s face.

“You’re becoming my pack animal,” Noya said, not even waiting for Asahi to get ready before crawling over and draping himself on Asahi’s back. “Or maybe my loyal steed. Does that make me a knight, if I have a loyal steed? Cool,” Noya declared, grinning. “This is good though, you can make up for the training you’re missing with your weird niceness by jogging there with me.”

“Nishinoya, I really don’t think running is necessary…” Asahi said as he struggled to get to his feet.

“Oh, my ankle, it hurts so bad, my foot might fall off if I don’t get to the doctor soon! Only Asahi’s run is fast enough for me to make it in time!” Noya declared, removing an arm from Asahi’s shoulders to place his hand dramatically on his forehead.

“Whatever happened to “only my mom can get me to the doctor?”” Asahi grunted, adjusting his grip on Noya.

“That changed when you became my loyal steed. Onward, into battle!”

“I’m not running.”

“ _Onward_!”

Asahi ended up half-jogging to the doctor, despite Noya’s complaints about his lack of enthusiasm. It was only when Noya told him that being his steed made Noya his knight that Asahi found it in himself to add a little speed, because Asahi was nothing if not very gay and slightly into the idea of Noya being his knight in shining armor. The doctor’s appointment did not take very long; there was no wait in the emergency room, and an x-ray and quick evaluation revealed a mildly sprained ankle. After a quick lecture about how he absolutely _must_ stay off of it (apparently Noya was known by the local doctors for disobeying medical orders), they were on their way. Noya, predictably, bitched and moaned about the duration of the suspension as Asahi carried him to the train station to take them home, holding a pair of crutches awkwardly in one hand. Noya had protested taking the crutches at all, insisting that as his loyal steed Asahi was now duty-bound to carry him wherever he wanted for the next week, only to be reminded that they lived in different houses and took different classes where Asahi could not follow. Noya had seemed a little disappointed at that, which made Asahi’s heart flutter with hope before he remembered, no, that was just Noya being Noya. He couldn’t let his feelings color their interactions.

Asahi deposited Noya at his house with a promise to return in the morning to bring him to school, and Noya stumbled a little over his words before managing a “thank you” and hobbling awkwardly inside. Noya might be having fun with the whole loyal steed thing, but Asahi was certainly not complaining about the chance to have extended physical contact with Noya. His back felt warm from the contact long after he’d dropped Noya off, and the happy buzz of energy in his chest kept him up at night as he replayed every moment that day when Noya had touched him. God, he was so fucked.

Asahi showed up at Noya’s house in the morning at the crack of dawn, knowing that Noya would still want to go to morning practice. He had both their bags on his back, which had been dropped off at his house by a very annoyed Daichi. Asahi honestly hadn’t even remembered leaving them at the gym, which had only fueled Daichi’s ire further. He shifted from foot to foot, hesitant to make a lot of noise early in the morning in case Noya had in fact slept in. He knew if Suga were here, he’d be teasing Asahi for fussing over Noya so much, but he couldn’t help it. He finally had the chance to take care of Noya, and he was going to milk it for all it was worth. It was nice to finally be able to pay Noya back for all that he’d done for Asahi. He rapped his knuckles gently on the door and then stood back to wait. There was some shuffling inside, and then the door swung open to reveal a small woman in a suit looking up at him with curious brown eyes. Her hair was pulled back in a severe bun, revealing an angular face that looked startlingly like Noya’s.

“Oh, you must be Asahi-kun, Yuu said that you might be coming over this morning,” Noya’s mother said with a smile. “Please, come in, Yuu will be down in a minute. I can drive you two to the train station, but I have to be at work early today for a big case I have coming up, so you’ll have to take him the rest of the way.”

“Thank you, Nishinoya-san,” Asahi replied, not moving from his place in the doorway.

“Come on in, Asahi-kun, there’s no reason to stand out there in the morning chill,” she said, gesturing Asahi inside. Asahi hesitated a moment before walking in, murmuring apologies for the intrusion. Noya’s mother laughed. “Wow, Yuu wasn’t joking, you are a little timid aren’t you?”

 _And now I know where Nishinoya gets his bluntness from_ , Asahi thought wryly. Then he registered what Noya’s mother said, and he blushed.

“Nishi, um, Yuu talks about me?” Asahi asked, surprised.

“All the time,” Noya’s mother said with a laugh, waving one hand in amusement. “It’s always Asahi-san this and Asahi-san that, if it wasn’t for Ryuu-kun I’d think you were the only person he ever spoke to.”

“Okaasan!” Noya shouted from upstairs, thankfully cutting his mother off before Asahi could turn a more embarrassing shade of red. “Send Asahi up here, I need help getting down the stairs.”

“Yuu, I know you’re injured but you can’t make poor Asahi-kun do everything for you,” Noya’s mother chided as Asahi dropped their bags and trotted up the stairs. “Asahi-kun, he can make it down on his own you know.”

“I don’t mind helping,” he told her. He swore he could hear her chuckle as he made it to the top of the stairs, where Noya stood waiting, leaning on his crutches.

“Sorry about that, my mom is pretty embarrassing,” Noya said, not willing to meet Asahi’s eyes. Asahi’s heart skipped a beat as he noticed a faint flush on Noya’s cheeks. Noya was blushing over Asahi knowing that he was spoken highly of? Damn it, Noya was making it hard for Asahi not to get his hopes up. Reaching over and placing a supportive arm around Noya didn’t help matters, as the hope Asahi was feeling bloomed into full-blown affection at the contact. Doing his best to avoid Noya’s eyes (and hide the rising blush on his cheeks), he helped Noya hobble down the stairs. Noya’s mother looked at them both with a smirk and raised eyebrows as they made it to the landing, and Asahi felt like he was being read like a book. All he could hope at that point was that Noya’s mother wouldn’t make any comments and Asahi could go back to being (what he thought was) discreetly in love with her son.

Luckily for Asahi, the rest of the morning went off relatively uneventfully. Noya’s mother drove them to the train station and Noya had tried in vain to convince Asahi that he would be fine as long as he taped his ankle really tightly. He’d fallen quiet as soon as Asahi had reminded him that a Noya that was well enough to play was a Noya that didn’t need his “loyal steed” to carry him around, which made Asahi’s heart warm. He liked being this close to Noya, he decided, as he gave in to Noya’s demand to be carried from the train station to school. What he’d forgotten was that he’d be arriving at the gym with Noya on his back where everyone could see them. Most of the team had called Asahi a good teammate and fretted over Noya, but Asahi could feel the judgmental stares of Suga and Daichi from across the court as he explained the situation to the first and second years. It was going to be a long practice, he thought with a sigh.  

 

\--

 

“So let me get this straight, you carried him to the doctor, and then to his house, and then picked him up from his place and brought him to school?” Daichi asked after practice once Noya had hobbled away on his crutches, his eyebrows rising. “And you think that’s a normal thing to do?” Asahi put his hands up defensively.

“You say that like he wouldn’t be following me around making sure I took care of myself if I got hurt,” Asahi protested. Daichi only shook his head.

“He would, which makes your confusion about this matter all the worse,” Daichi informed him.

“C’mon Daichi, it’s not Asahi’s fault he’s smitten and also highly unobservant,” Suga said with a smile, curling a hand around Daichi’s. “I remember you were quite the puppy when we were first-years. You followed me wherever I went.” It wasn’t the first time Suga had teased Asahi for his feelings for Nishinoya, but this was the first time Daichi had gotten involved. Asahi couldn’t say that he liked the new addition to the conversation.

“It’s not like that at all!” Asahi exclaimed, getting even more flustered. Beside him, Daichi’s ears went red, which took away from his “I’m being very serious right now Asahi” look.

“You’re telling me you’re _not_ gay for Noya,” Daichi deadpanned, pointedly ignoring Suga’s teasing.

“No, I am, wait, fuck, guys you’re not supposed to get me to admit these things!”

Suga laughed. “We’ve known forever, don’t worry.”

“I know you’ve known, you just never make me actually say it! Anyways, this isn’t about that! I am taking care of Nishinoya because he always takes care of me. It’s not about my feelings, it’s about making sure Nishinoya is okay!” Asahi insisted, waving his arms in what he hoped was a placating manner.

“You’re so dense I have no idea what to do with you,” Daichi groaned.

“You don’t have to worry so much about putting his feelings first, you know,” Suga told Asahi, clapping him on the back with his free hand. “You guys are pretty much on the same page, emotionally.”

Asahi looked at him in open confusion, his mouth trying to form a question before his brain could supply the words.

“He means Noya is just as gay for you as you are for him, you giant dumb teddy bear,” Daichi put in, appearing behind them.

“Oh,” Asahi said, processing. “ _Oh_.” That explained a lot, actually. “Wait, Noya is gay? Are you sure? Does that mean I don’t have to feel bad about flirting with him?”

“Suga can you hit him? I can’t deal with this,” Daichi complained.

“Don’t be such a negative goatee,” Suga chided, jabbing Asahi in the side.

“I’m more than my beard!” Asahi squeaked, his hands flying to his chin. “The rest of me is pretty negative too.”

That comment earned him a punch in the arm from both Daichi and Suga.

“Don’t be such a wimp,” Daichi commanded.

“Yeah, flirt it up,” Suga suggested, giving Asahi a wicked smile. Asahi groaned.

“You guys are going to be the death of me.”

“You mean we’re the reason you ever get anything meaningful done in your life ever,” Suga corrected, nudging him with his elbow.

“No, Noya has something to do with it too,” Asahi shot back, which drew a laugh out of Suga.

“Which is exactly why you need to stop pining and start making moves!”

“You guys never even answered my question!"

"What question?" Suga asked. "If Noya is gay? Asahi, do you have eyes or ears? He's pretty openly bisexual."

Asahi gawped, taking in this new information. "So it's really not creepy or selfish to flirt with him…?”

“No!” Daichi retorted, clearly growing irritated.

“If anything you’ll be doing us all a favor, the sexual tension between you guys is getting intense,” Suga put in. Asahi spluttered.

“There’s no sexual tension!”

“Sure, sure, whatever you say,” Suga said with that infuriatingly motherly smile that made Asahi feel like he was an annoying 12-year-old. “You’re taking him home after practice, right?”

“Yeah…?

“Okay, cool, make your move then,” Suga instructed.

“What does that even mean?” Asahi asked, more flustered than inspired by Suga’s prodding.

“Just don’t do anything I wouldn’t do and you’ll be fine,” Suga said with a wink.

“That doesn’t limit my options very much…” Asahi replied, thinking of all of the romantic and otherwise intimate things he had heard about Suga doing with Daichi.

“Exactly,” Suga said, giving Asahi a thumbs up. Daichi snickered as Asahi’s face went pale with apprehension. He didn’t want to think of how many different ways he could screw things up with Noya, because he was certain he was going to screw up.

“Don’t be such a wimp, you’ve got this,” Daichi assured him in a rare moment of kindness, clapping Asahi on the back. Daichi’s tone left no room for argument, so Asahi just sighed and admitted defeat as he walked into the classroom. All day, his mind was on Noya and the new information he’d been armed with. Noya most likely shared his feelings. That was all very well, but what the hell was he supposed to do now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CLIFFHANGER! Just kidding I already have 3/4 of the second chapter done but I wanted to to post this in halves so it wasn't such a massive wall of text, so you'll know how these gay babs end up pretty soon. I hope you all enjoy my first attempt at my otp, feedback is much appreciated!
> 
> Talk to me about asanoya on tumblr! @bisexual-bokuto


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noya has a limited vocabulary, there's a tickle war (with only a little sexual tension), Asahi gets a braid crown and realizes he really needs to make his move
> 
> Edit: This chapter now has lovely [ Fan Art](http://malsart.tumblr.com/post/153280344211/braid-crown-based-on-an-adorable-scene-in-lean-on) ! Many thanks to Mal for drawing such a lovely piece for this work!

Despite the confidence that Suga and Daichi had intended to give him, Asahi found himself nearly shaking with nerves when he approached Noya after practice to take him home. How was he supposed to, how did Suga put it, “flirt it up”? What if they were wrong and Asahi was harboring an unrequited crush that was about to become very uncomfortable for the both of them? What happened if Noya flirted back? Would they kiss? What would happen if they _did_ kiss?

“Asahi-san, you look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Noya informed him with a severe frown. He was sitting on the bench with his injured leg propped up on an ice pack, fidgeting with pent up energy. The team had taken the news of his injury pretty well, but that didn’t stop Noya from feeling like he was letting everyone down by sitting on the sidelines.

Noya’s bluntness undid a coil in Asahi’s chest, and he allowed himself to relax a little. Noya was still Noya, even when he had a crush on Asahi. “I’m fine,” Asahi assured him. “Ready to go home?”

Noya’s eyes lit up. “My loyal steed! Ready to go on wild adventures and conquer foreign lands?”

“We’re just going to your house, Nishinoya,” Asahi reminded him, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. As much as he loved Noya’s endless energy, it made it very difficult for Asahi to keep up with him, let alone try and follow Daichi and Suga’s directions.

“Shhh Asahi-san, you’re supposed to work with me here. I’m your knight in shining armor, remember?”

“Isn’t the knight supposed to have a princess, not a steed?” Asahi asked. He wouldn’t mind being the princess to Noya’s knight. Noya saved his ass enough on a regular basis on the court, so it wasn’t like things would change very much if Noya became his knight. Plus the concept of knighthood was kind of romantic, which Asahi could get behind far more than Suga’s vaguely inappropriate descriptions about how relationships worked.

“Well I suppose so, but isn’t the knight supposed to be carrying the princess? Some knight I am if I’m making my lady do my job,” Noya scoffed, although he seemed to be blushing (much to Asahi’s delight). “Anyways, you’re a man.”

“Well maybe modern day knighthood doesn’t have such rigid gender roles,” Asahi pointed out with a shrug.

“Okay, so I still get to be a knight, and you can be my gender role defying man-princess,” Noya declared, standing up and hopping onto Asahi’s back. “I can deal with that.”

“I’m pretty sure a man-princess is called a prince, Nishinoya,” Asahi reminded him.

“Shut up, I’m bad at words,” Noya said. Asahi didn’t have the heart to tease him any further; he was too focused on the implication of what Noya had said. Noya was the knight to his prince. Did that count as flirting? He wasn’t sure if Suga would count it, but Asahi was proud of himself.

They made their way back to Noya’s house bantering back and forth, making up wild tales about Noya the knight and his miraculous quests for his man-princess (he wouldn’t let the term go, no matter how much Asahi corrected him) until they were both laughing and out of breath on Noya’s doorstep. Asahi paused at the door, unsure of what to do next. He felt like he was walking on sunshine, with Noya clinging to him and their laughter filling the air, and he didn’t want the atmosphere to dissipate just yet. Plus he was pretty sure he’d failed on his mission to “flirt it up,” no matter how much fun he’d had. After all, the walk back hadn’t seemed very romantic, just hilarious.

“Stay for dinner Asahi-san,” Noya said, leaning forward to speak into Asahi’s ear. Asahi was sure his entire body went rigid as he felt Noya’s breath on his neck, and god damn it why was he so gay? He needed to figure out the whole flirting thing.

“Uh, okay,” Asahi stammered. Before Asahi could think any more about how Noya had just made him feel, Noya had disentangled himself from Asahi’s arms and jumped down, landing on one foot.

“Careful, you don’t want to hurt your other ankle,” Asahi reminded him as he dug into his pocket to produce a key and hopped to the door on one foot to unlock it. “Do you want your crutches?”

“Giving up on being my man-princess, huh Asahi?” Noya teased as he pushed the door open.

“For the last time, it’s called a prince,” Asahi said, entering the doorway and calling out apologies for the intrusion. He dumped their things by the door and propped the crutches up by the wall before picking Noya back up, this time in bridal style.

“Dad already knows you’re coming for dinner, I texted him during practice,” Noya said, squirming in Asahi’s arms to get more comfortable.

“Without asking me? What if I had said no?” Asahi asked, raising an eyebrow.

“When do you ever say no to me, Asahi-san?” Noya asked. Asahi came very close to dropping Noya – as it was, he stumbled over his own feet and almost fell. He was sure his face was beet red. Noya laughed, and Asahi was pretty sure that Noya was succeeding at the flirting thing without even intending to while Asahi could barely manage to hold a conversation.

“Hey Otousan, Asahi and I are back!” Noya called out into the house, ignoring Asahi’s reaction. A dark head poked out into the hallway, grinning widely.

“Welcome Asahi-kun, it’s nice to finally meet you. Yuu talks a lot about you,” he said. He seemed unperturbed by his son’s position in Asahi’s arms. “I’m making ramen, I hope that’s alright.”

“Thank you for having me,” Asahi forced out, before ducking his head and turning to head up the stairs. “Which one is your room?” Asahi asked as he made it to the landing, looking around.

“That one,” Noya said, pointing to a closed door at the end of the hall. Asahi nodded and walked over, opening the door and looking around. The room was decorated simply, with a desk and a bed and a few posters of various music artists that Noya liked dotting the wall. It was just messy enough to be endearing: there were stray pencils on the desk, the bed was hastily made, and there was a discarded manga volume lying on the floor. It was simple, straightforward, and a little rough around the edges, like Noya, and Asahi suddenly felt very embarrassed to be there. He’d never spent much time with Noya outside of school or volleyball, and the times that they did hang out they’d done casual things that did little to acquaint them to each other’s personal life. Being here made him feel like he’d rushed into something he wasn’t equipped to handle, a level of intimacy he wanted but wasn’t sure what to do with.

“You can put me down Asahi-san, you must be getting tired after all of this,” Noya said, looking up at Asahi with a smile. Startled out of his thoughts, Asahi realized that his biceps had in fact begun to burn with the strain of holding Noya’s weight. But, at the same time, he didn’t really want to let Noya go. Reluctantly, Asahi moved to the bed and deposited Noya on top of it. He felt empty and kind of awkward without Noya in his arms, like he didn’t really have any further purpose being there, so he just stood looking at Noya in hopes that the other would give him some sort of cue. He knew that if Suga and Daichi were there they’d be rolling their eyes at him and encouraging him to do something, _anything_ , but the fact remained that Asahi had no idea how to deal with the pounding affection in his chest. Or how to talk to people in general, really.

Luckily, Noya was Noya and had no filter or boundaries whatsoever, and quickly reached up to pull Asahi down onto the bed next to him.

“Take a load off Asahi, the man-princess is supposed to live a life of luxury, isn’t he?” Noya said as Asahi toppled forward with an “oof,” falling gracelessly next to Noya. Asahi couldn’t even bring himself to correct Noya, too aware of where his body was touching Noya’s (arm, hip, thigh, foot) as they lay side by side. “Okay, so practice today. Your serve form was good, but I think you could…”

Asahi settled in as Noya began to rattle off criticisms and pointers from practice, grateful that he didn’t have to talk. It didn’t take him long to start to relax into Noya’s side and allow Noya’s voice wash over him, melting his worries away. As much as Noya tended to criticize Asahi, Asahi always felt more secure when Noya was around, and was able to relax in a way he simply could not around other people. He responded when he was prompted to, but mostly Asahi just lay at Noya’s side, enjoying the sound of the other’s voice and the feeling of his presence. Affection warmed him from the inside, and he was pretty sure he could lie there for the rest of the day without feeling too bad about it.

Unfortunately, the peace was broken when the pair was called down for dinner. Asahi couldn’t bring himself to be too disappointed though, because he still got to carry Noya down the stairs and enjoy the fact that he was taking care of Noya for once. Now that he knew the feelings were mutual, he didn’t feel nearly as bad doting on Noya, because Noya’s feelings matched his own. Even if he still had no idea how to broach the topic (is it acceptable to just confess to someone you’re taking care of anyways?), the knowledge allowed Asahi to be bolder. He put Noya down as they reached the bottom of the stairs and hooked an arm around him, holding him up so he wasn’t putting a lot of weight on his bad ankle.

“It helps it heal if you let it bear a little weight. Helps it get stronger,” Asahi told him as they walked, slowly and haltingly, toward the dining room.

“That makes sense. You’re pretty smart, Asahi-san,” Noya said, smiling up at him. Asahi blushed.

“Oh, no, I just spent my whole life on sports teams with injury-prone people,” Asahi muttered, embarrassed by the praise. No wonder he couldn’t flirt – he could barely take a compliment.

“You don’t need to downplay compliments, Asahi-san,” Noya informed him. “It’s okay to accept how awesome you are.”

Asahi nearly tripped, taken by surprise by the blunt kindness in Noya’s words. Noya had such an easy time just saying what was on his mind, Asahi marveled as he steadied himself. It made Asahi feel both happy and insecure as they walked together into the dining room. On the one hand, Noya’s easy confidence in him made him feel good. On the other, if Noya was so blunt, why was it that he hadn’t addressed the potential for romance between them? Was it because Suga was mistaken and Noya didn’t like Asahi at all?

Before Asahi could panic too much, they made it into the dining room, where they were greeted by Noya’s parents and the smell of hot food. Asahi helped Noya to his seat before pulling out a chair for himself and sitting before a steaming bowl of noodles.

“Yuu mentioned that tonkotsu ramen was your favorite, so I went out to get some broth when he told me you were coming for dinner,” Noya’s father said as Asahi’s eyes widened at the food in front of him. Asahi exhaled a little in relief: tonkotsu broth was incredibly laborious to make, and he felt bad enough imposing on the Nishinoya household for dinner without the added effort required for his favorite meal. Then he blushed: Noya knew what his favorite food was, and had brought it up to his parents?

“No need to look so uncomfortable, Asahi-kun, my husband loves going all out for Yuu’s friends, plus he gets home early enough from work to let him put some effort into cooking,” Noya’s mother assured him, which only made Asahi redden further. Were his emotions so obvious on his face?

“Thank you for the food,” Asahi said, ducking his head and digging in before anyone could try to talk to him any more. Unfortunately for Asahi, it was not long before Noya dragged his attention back outward and into the conversation, which had turned to school and volleyball. Asahi could feel Noya’s mother’s eyes on him as the conversation progressed, but the evaluating judgement he had sensed in the morning had turned into an approving gaze as the night progressed, which made him feel a little better. Noya had been looking at him a lot too, but Asahi couldn’t bring himself to mind that -- it made him feel a lot better about how often he stole his own glances at Noya. By the end of the meal, Asahi had relaxed enough to make his own contributions to the conversation (which had turned to hair styling after Mr. Nishinoya had mentioned that he owned a salon), and Noya was making wild plans about trying out updos he’d seen his father doing on Asahi. Noya’s father had simply shaken his head ruefully and began to clear the table at his son’s suggestion, clearly the steady rock of the family. Asahi had been about to stand and help with the dishes when a low rumble sounded outside and his heart plummeted.

“Was that thunder?” He asked, pulling his hands back from the table and stuffing them in his pockets to hide their shaking. Noya opened his mouth to answer when light flashed through the window and noise boomed. Asahi flinched -- he hated thunderstorms. Loud noises had always stressed him out, and thunder was no exception. Outside, he could hear the rain begin to pour down, hammering on the roof and ground.

“Don’t look so nervous, Asahi-kun, we won’t make you walk home in a storm,” Noya’s mom said, smiling at him. Noya gave Asahi a knowing look, his brow furrowing thoughtfully. Asahi’s heart fluttered hopefully, knowing Noya was aware of his fear and was hopefully going to help him manage it.  Noya turned to his mother.

“Can Asahi spend the night then? You have to be at court early tomorrow and Dad hates driving at night,” Noya pointed out. Asahi blinked: he wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, but it wasn’t that. Noya’s mother raised her eyebrows.

“Will you get your homework done if you do that?” she asked.

“I’ll make sure he does it,” Asahi piped up quickly, not wanting to let the opportunity to slip away. A sleepover indicated a certain level of trust and friendship, and even if it wasn’t quite the level of intimacy he wanted with Noya, he would take what he could get. “I already completed his year, so I can even help him with anything he gets stuck on,” he offered when Noya’s mother turned to him, looking suspicious. She studied him for a few moments before giving a relenting sigh.

“Okay, fine. Yuu’s pajamas are all way too big on him, so you might be able to find something that you can wear for the night. If you leave your uniform out before you go to bed I’m sure Mr. Nishinoya will press it for you,” she told him. Noya gave an excited whoop and hopped out of his seat, only to stagger as he put weight on his ankle. Asahi lunged forward and caught him before he could fall and pulled him closer to himself, sure that if he let go Noya would only hurt himself again.

“Looks like it’s better if you’re here anyways, Asahi-kun,” Noya’s mother commented with a chuckle. “Yuu might put himself in real danger if you’re not here to protect him.”

“Hey, I’m supposed to be the one protecting Asahi! I’m the knight to his man-princess!”

Noya’s mother stared at them both for a few moments before shaking her head and picking up her bowl and walking away into the kitchen. Noya apparently took that as approval for their plan and jumped up onto Asahi, clinging to him like a monkey. Asahi froze for a few moments before realizing Noya was going to slip off of him if he didn’t hold him up, and dipped his hands down to hold him up. He cupped his palms under Noya and allowed his weight to fall onto his arms, only to realize belatedly his grip had ended up in a rather… uncomfortable place.

“Damn Asahi-san, if you wanted to grab my ass you only had to ask,” Noya teased, looking up at Asahi with a wicked smile.

“Yuu!” Noya’s mother snapped from the kitchen, which only made Noya cackle. Asahi blushed a furious red and dropped his hands away, unsure of where to put them.

“I’m gonna fall if you don’t hold me up, Asahi-san,” Noya reminded him, squeezing tighter around Asahi’s torso in an attempt to keep himself from falling further down. Thunder pealed overhead and Asahi whimpered, wrapping his arms around Noya’s waist in what he hoped was a good compromise position. He didn’t want Noya to get down at this point -- the warmth of his presence was having a calming effect on him -- but he also didn’t want to make Noya uncomfortable by making any further weird grabs. Although Noya didn’t really seem to mind, and he _did_ have a really nice ass from what Asahi had felt...

He needed to stop. Now. “Let’s go upstairs and do that homework, okay?” Asahi blurted out, turning around and heading for the stairs before Noya could say anything. Once they’d made it into Noya’s bedroom, Asahi exhaled in relief and flopped down onto Noya’s bed, allowing Noya to fall on top of him.

“Are we really going to do homework?” Noya whined, detangling himself from Asahi so he could sit up. Thunder boomed yet again and Asahi flinched.

“I could use the distraction,” Asahi muttered, embarrassed by his own pathetic fears.

“Man, the thunder is really freaking you out, huh?” Noya asked. To Asahi’s relief, Noya’s tone sounded more curious than judgemental. Noya had seen Asahi’s reaction to thunderstorms before, but they’d always had the team around to distract him from the worst of his fear in previous instances. Asahi nodded miserably.

“It’s an irrational fear, I know, and it’s pretty pathetic, but it still gets to me,” he muttered, turning his head away from Noya to hide his face. Noya sighed.

“Hey, move, I want to sit behind you,” Noya said. Asahi turned his head back to give Noya a questioning look, but complied. Asahi shifted down the bed with a grunt, and Noya clambered over him with a rustle of cloth. There was a snapping sound and Asahi could feel his hair falling loose, but before he could complain there were fingers on his scalp, rubbing and stroking. Asahi’s whole body relaxed at the feeling, and he stretched his neck up to rest his head in Noya’s lap. “My dad always says he likes washing people’s hair at the salon because when he rubs their scalps they relax so much,” Noya said, tangling his fingers in Asahi’s hair. “Why don’t you wear your hair down more? It looks good like this.”

Asahi blushed, but decided head scratches were worth letting Noya see the telltale flush on his face. “It gets messy and in my eyes,” Asahi explained. “Plus people think I’m even more of a wild guy if I do. I go from vaguely intimidating hipster to scary metalhead.”

“You’re too much of a teddy bear to be described as scary,” Noya said with a laugh. Asahi frowned.

“Yeah, Daichi loves to remind me of that,” he grumbled, remembering their conversation earlier. Noya chuckled.

“You care too much about what Daichi-san thinks, Asahi-san. Anyways, Daichi-san likes and respects you, he just wants you to be more confident in yourself,” Noya assured him, running his fingers down the sides of Asahi’s head towards his neck. Asahi twitched, feeling Noya move dangerously close to his ticklish areas.

“Sure, that’s why he calls me a ‘giant dumb teddybear,’” Asahi lamented. “So good for my self esteem.” Noya snorted with laughter at that, his hands slipping down to Asahi’s neck. Asahi recoiled, biting back a giggle of his own. Noya stared at him for a moment, surprised by the sudden motion, before his eyes lit up in realization.

“Asahi-san, you’re _ticklish_?”

“Oh no,” Asahi moaned, burying his face in his hands. “Please don’t.”

“What was that?” Noya asked, wiggling his fingers at Asahi.

“Nishinoya, no,” Asahi said, sitting up and scooching away as fast as he could to the other side of the bed.

“Nishinoya _yes_!” Noya pounced on Asahi, his fingers dancing over Asahi’s sides and drawing out breathless laughter. Asahi writhed beneath him, conflicted if he should just submit to tickle torture or shove Noya off. He didn’t want to hurt Noya, but he also didn’t want to die of asphyxiation by laughter. Reaching out, he pushed his hands into Noya’s exposed sides and moved his fingers experimentally. Noya froze.

“Oh no Asahi-san, that’s not fair,” Noya whined. Asahi grinned and moved his fingers again. Noya bit his lip, clearly trying hard not to laugh.

“Not fair, hm? I don’t know, it seems pretty fair to me,” Asahi replied, moving so he was facing Noya. His fingers danced over Noya’s ribcage, and it took all of Asahi’s concentration to not flatten his hands out and run them over Noya’s sides and down his hips. This was a tickle war, he reminded himself, not some sort of porno. Noya, realizing he was being resisted, had redoubled his attack, using his small size to maneuver around Asahi’s body and place his fingers where they were the most effective. Asahi barked a laugh, unable to contain himself, and wiggled away from Noya’s touch. He was clearly more ticklish than Noya, which meant that if he were to win, he was going to need to rely on force. Twisting, he grabbed Noya’s wrists and lifted them above his head, pushing him backwards until they both fell onto the bed, Asahi pinning Noya down.

“I win,” Asahi declared, triumphant. Noya was silent, staring up at Asahi with wide eyes and burning cheeks. Asahi then realized what exactly he was doing: pinning Noya down to the bed, holding his wrists down and using his superior size to force the other into submission. Damn it, he had been trying to avoid creating a bad porno scene! Releasing Noya’s arms, he scrambled backwards, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck. His fingers tangled with his hair, which was slightly damp from sweat from exerting himself so much in the tickle war.

“Sorry about that,” Asahi muttered. Noya blinked a few times before shaking his head and offering Asahi a wide smile.

“Nothing to be sorry for, Asahi-san,” Noya said. “Are you feeling better?”

Asahi nodded. He had completely forgotten to be nervous about the thunder, caught up as he was in their little competition. “Good, let's keep it that way. I'm going to do your hair,” Noya declared.

“What?” Asahi spluttered. “No, my hair is gross and sweaty.”

“It'll dry out once I brush it, Asahi-san,” Noya told him. “Playing with your hair sounds much more fun than homework, and it helps you relax so it's a double win.” Asahi sighed but followed Noya’s directions as he was told to get a brush and hair ties and sit on the floor in front of Noya’s bed. They chatted amicably as Noya brushed out Asahi’s hair and began to twist it into intricate dos that baffled Asahi every time he could glimpse himself in Noya’s mirror. Having his hair done _was_ relaxing, and Asahi found himself growing sleepy after about an hour of playing salon. He felt warm inside, being doted on like this by Noya, and carrying Noya around all day had taken more of a physical toll on him than he would've liked to admit.

“Sleepy, Asahi-san?” Noya asked, noticing how Asahi’s head had begun to droop.

“We never got to do homework,” Asahi protested, rubbing his eyes. “Also, how the heck did you manage this?” he asked, gesturing to his hair, which was collected into a braid crown. “My hair shouldn't be long enough for something like this.”

“Lots of practice, Asahi-san,” Noya said, leaning back to admire his work proudly.

“And lots of bobby pins,” Asahi complained, pulling out a pin that had been digging into his scalp.

“True. But anyways, we should go to bed if you're so tired. We have morning practice early tomorrow, and you need to be well rested to be my steed-man-princess,” Noya informed him. Asahi brought his palm to his forehead in exasperation.

“You need to come up with a single word for that. Oh wait, there is one. Prince.”

“Yeah but that's no fun Asahi-san,” Noya replied, pulling the pins out of Asahi’s hair and collecting them in his palm.

“You're distracting me. We need to do homework,” Asahi said with a yawn.

“Not while you're this tired we don't,” Noya told him. “I can do homework during practice tomorrow, let's go to sleep.”

“Fine,” Asahi relented, stretching out with another yawn. Where are your pajamas? I'll get you some.”

“Bottom drawer.” Noya gestured, flopping back onto the bed. Asahi went to the dresser and rummaged through the indicated drawer, pulling out two pairs of pajama pants that were most definitely too large for Noya, and two t-shirts emblazoned with over the top phrases on the back. After examining the garments, he tossed the smaller ones to Noya and began to undress, pulling off his uniform until he stood in his boxers.  Eyeing the pajamas in his hands nervously, he pulled them on and hoped they wouldn't rip. To his surprise, they fit over his body for the most part, and allowed him at least some range of motion. Part of his abdomen was revealed, and his ankles were definitely showing, but it was better than sleeping in his boxers.

“Damn, Asahi-san, you look like one of those muscle models for magazines,” Noya said. Asahi turned around to look at Noya, who was sitting on his bed in his excessively large pajamas. He practically swam in the clothes, and it was nothing short of adorable.

“I'm not sure if that's a compliment,” Asahi admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

“It is. Now help me get to the bathroom so I can brush my teeth.”

Once all the regular bedtime prep was completed, Asahi and Noya found themselves back in Noya’s room staring awkwardly at the floor.

“So I’ll take the floor, obviously,” Asahi began, only to be cut off by Noya.

“No way Asahi-san, you’ll end up with a crick in your neck or something and it’ll affect how you play volleyball. I won’t be having that,” Noya declared, leaving no room for argument.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to sleep on the floor either, Nishinoya,” Asahi protested weakly.

“Whoever said I was? We’re going to share the bed.”

“Is there enough room for that?”

“There is if we try, Asahi-san. It’s all about trying,” Noya said, squirming in Asahi’s arms. Asahi sighed and lay Noya down on the bed. Noya burrowed under the covers and then lifted them up, gesturing Asahi in. Asahi paused briefly to admire the scene before him, because it was adorable and utterly _domestic_ in a way he had never even dared to hope to have with Noya. Even if he couldn’t figure out how to make romance happen, he was pretty happy with this. He ducked down into bed and pulled the covers over him, lying next to Noya with an inch between them. He wanted nothing more than to reach over and pull Noya into his arms, but he also was pretty sure that would be a little too bold. Thinking back to earlier, he asked himself: would Suga do that? The answer was yes, but Asahi was pretty sure Suga didn’t do romance the way Asahi did (read: Suga actually _did_ romance where Asahi just failed) anyways so “don’t do anything I wouldn’t do” wasn’t really helpful.

“Asahi-san, you’re going to fall off the bed,” Noya reprimanded. “And I’m cold, come here.” Before Asahi could ask what “come here” entailed, he was being pulled towards Noya, and Noya’s face was nestled in his chest. He hesitated for a moment, and then wrapped his arms around Noya, resting his chin on Noya’s head. He could smell the smaller boy as he inhaled and had to hold back a contented sound as he realized that Noya smelled really nice. His heart swelled with affection, and he tugged Noya a little closer and closed his eyes. This might not be everything he wanted, but for now he could be happy. Cracking his eyes a little, he looked down at Noya, whose breath had already evened out into the steady rhythm of sleep. He could be happy for now, Asahi decided, but he didn’t want to give this up. Which meant he needed to try even harder. A shiver of fear ran down his spine as he realized what that meant: trying harder, being even bolder, maybe even confessing his feelings. But, if it meant more of this, it would be worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic keeps getting longer and longer without me giving it permission to do so. The third and final part should be up within a day or so, with the part you're all waiting for (and maybe some smut if I can build up the courage????). Thank you all for the kudos and comments so far!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suga and Daichi exert peer pressure, and Asahi's shy, stumbling flirting finally gets some results

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter does kick the rating up to M, so if you are uncomfortable reading sexual scenes skip from "Hey, how far are you willing to go," to "Wow..."

“You slept in his bed and you didn’t think that was even remotely good time to bring up the fact that you’re in love with him?” Suga asked, judgment in his voice. Asahi cringed. It was after morning practice the next day. Asahi had walked into practice with Noya on his back and a smile on his face, which had immediately tipped his fellow-third years off. They’d pounced on him as they’d walked to class, demanding to know what had gotten their ace all smiley. Asahi had boasted about his happy moment to Suga, thinking he had done well until Daichi had asked if they were together yet.

“How can you manage to get into his bed before you ask him out? Asahi, you’re doing this terribly out of order,” Daichi asked, pinching his nose in exasperation.

“It’s not like we did anything!”

“I know. That’s probably the most depressing part of this whole thing: you spent the whole night next to the man of your dreams and not only are you still single, you didn’t even manage to get it in. I bet you didn’t even cuddle him.”

Asahi dropped his head to hide his smile, remembering the warmth of Nishinoya’s sleeping form wrapped up in his arms. “We… might have cuddled.”

“Oh thank god, I was beginning to think you were entirely useless,” Daichi quipped.

“Like you weren’t scared shitless the first time you slept over,” Suga teased. “I had to take your arms and physically make you hold me.”

“This is about Asahi, not me,” Daichi said, his ears reddening. Suga chuckled and leaned in to press a gentle kiss to his boyfriend’s cheek. “Asahi, who somehow thought cuddling with a guy who he is in love with who also loves him was somehow platonic and not a good time to bring up feelings. At least when I slept over at your house for the first time I’d already asked you out.”

“I really tried to do the flirting thing! I just don’t seem to be very good at it,” Asahi said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“What a surprise,” Daichi grumbled.

“Did you guys do _anything_ that I might approve of?” Suga asked.

“Well, Noya did my hair, and we had a tickle war,” Asahi recounted. “And we laid on his bed and talked for a while when we first got back to his house.”

“So basically Noya made a bunch of moves on you, you did domestic shit and didn’t even realize what a couple you were being.” Suga elbowed Asahi in the side. “You’re totally hopeless.”

“I just… I didn’t know how to bring it up! And I kept doubting myself! I still don’t have a guarantee he likes me too!” Asahi rubbed the back of his neck anxiously, ducking his head. “And hey, wait, how do you know that he was making moves?”

“Sometimes in life Asahi, you don’t need guarantees. Taking risks can be a very rewarding experience,” Suga told him sagely, all teasing gone from his voice. Asahi looked up at Suga and was surprised to see sincerity in his eyes. Then Suga gave him a trademark smile. “Anyways, it was me who told you Noya likes you, which is basically a guarantee. I’m never wrong about these things. Trust me, Noya was making moves on you.”

“You haven’t been proven right about Kageyama and Hinata,” Asahi muttered as they turned a corner.

“False,” Suga said, puffing out his chest triumphantly. “You’re just unobservant. We’ve walked by them kissing each other goodbye before class like twice this week. Check it, they’re over there.” He gestured with his head, and Asahi’s eyes widened.

“How did I miss that?” Asahi wondered as he watched Hinata get on his toes to press a gentle kiss to Kageyama’s very red cheek.

“How do you live your life?” Daichi asked, sounding equally confused. “You’re such a dense goofball I have no idea how you function on a day to day basis.”

“You’re so mean, Daichi,” Asahi lamented, pouting a little. Daichi laughed and Suga swung his arm around Daichi’s waist and pulled him close.

“Only to you,” Suga told Asahi after pressing a kiss to his boyfriend’s neck. Daichi flushed, but did not lose his composure. “Which you really need, so I allow it. Anyways, about Noya. If you guys aren’t together by tomorrow I’m going to cut your bun off in your sleep.”

“Not my hair!” Asahi gasped, his hand flying protectively to his bun.

“May as well take his balls instead, since he won’t be deserving of them,” Daichi snickered. Suga elbowed him.

“No need of your machoism, you can be a man and still be a wimp. A sad, sad man, but still a man. And Asahi would be sad no matter what he gender was,” Suga said.

“I take it back, I think Suga is actually the mean one,” Asahi whimpered.

“I will stop being mean when you stop being such a baby. Now go to class and try not to spend the whole day thinking about Noya.”

 

Despite Suga’s instructions, Asahi spent most of the day thinking about Noya. He caught himself daydreaming on more than one occasion, staring out the window and thinking about Noya and the situations they’d been in last night. Suga was right, Noya _had_ made moves on him, and he’d done _nothing_ . He’d been right on top of Noya at the end of their tickle war, their faces inches apart. Wasn’t that the perfect cliched time to kiss someone? Had he missed the opportunity to create a cute cliched romance? Did he even want a cliched romance with Noya? Surely relationships weren’t as good as they were in movies, so why would he want a movie-like start that would raise Noya’s expectations for him too high? But what if Noya wanted a cliched cutesy romance? If that’s what Noya wanted, Asahi supposed he was okay with that. They were pretty cliched already, he figured, with the whole knight and ~~man princess~~ prince thing. God, why hadn’t he asked Noya out when he’d declared them knight and man princess? Daichi and Suga were right: he _was_ useless.

Asahi’s thoughts continued like that for most of the day, to the point where he was dreading going to practice and facing up to Noya. He had no idea how to approach the subject, and after spending the night at Noya’s, he was almost certain if he did he would make a fool out of himself. Not because Noya didn’t reciprocate (that was a whole other worry), but because Asahi had such a huge tendency to put his foot in his mouth. He’d spent all night cuddling with Noya, worse, he’d woken up before Noya and admired his quiet, slumbering cuteness in the light of the morning dawn, and had been so overblown with emotion he was pretty sure he was going to explode. And yet he still couldn’t find the words to say anything other than a stuttered good morning to Noya. It didn’t help that he wasn’t a morning person (his parents had seriously misnamed him), either. He’d helped Noya walk to school, insisting that Noya put a little weight on his ankle to help it heal, but had eventually relented to carry him the last stretch as Noya had complained about pain. His compliance had nothing to do with how much he liked holding Noya, not at all.

All in all, Asahi knew he’d missed opportunities, and he was starting to doubt that he’d ever recognize one in the moment while one was happening. Was he doomed to only recognize things in retrospect? He shook his head at the thought as he walked into the club room, shutting the door behind him and dropping his bag in front of his locker. He busied himself with changing, trying so hard not to think about Noya he didn’t notice the ruckus outside the clubroom until Tanaka and Noya burst through the door. Noya was leaning heavily on a single crutch, while Tanaka was waving the second one around like a sword. Both his and Noya’s bags were on Tanaka’s back, and they were both laughing loudly. Asahi froze. There Noya was, with his face lit up with an adorable amount of excitement that just made Asahi want to _kiss_ him and he couldn’t do anything because Tanaka was there and he wasn’t even wearing a shirt and kissing Noya shirtless in the club room would probably be Suga-approved but highly embarrassing if anyone ever found out and....

“Asahi-san, are you alright?” Noya asked, the mirth on his face falling away in favor of a concerned expression. Asahi blinked, his thoughts interrupted, before realizing he’d been staring at Noya. Suddenly conscious of his state of undress, he spun around and hurried to pull his shirt over his head.

“Bro, you do realize we’ve seen you shirtless about a thousand times right?” Tanaka asked. Asahi wilted. Of course Noya had seen him shirtless countless times -- he’d seen him change just last night! Why would he be worried about Noya seeing him shirtless? Why did he have to be so obvious and awkward?

“Modesty doesn’t suit you Asahi-san,” Noya reprimanded, hobbling over to Asahi and getting up on his tip toes to speak into Asahi’s ear. “You’ve got nothing to hide from me you know.”

Me. Not us, Asahi thought, his eyes wandering over to Tanaka, who had moved to go get changed. Me. Was Noya hitting on him? Was his supposed to say something back? He wasn’t smooth enough for this. He turned around to look down at Noya, who was still standing _very_ close to him.

“You’re right, there’s not much of me you haven’t seen,” Asahi admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “But now’s not really the time for discussions of how much skin I show you.”

Noya raised his eyebrows. “Does that mean there will be time for it later?” he asked, voice low so Tanaka couldn’t hear. Asahi was pretty sure his face was on fire. What was Noya insinuating? That he take his clothes off? How the hell did Suga expect him to handle this?

“Uh, well…”

“Asahi, you big goofball, stop wasting time and get down to the gym and help set up if you’re done changing!” Daichi’s voice cut through the awkwardness between Asahi and Noya as he entered the club room. For once, Asahi was grateful for Daichi’s sternness, and took the opportunity to break awkward eye-contact with Noya and offer the smaller boy an arm.

“Need help getting down?” Asahi asked. Noya smiled up at Asahi and leaned into Asahi’s side, wrapping his arm around Asahi’s waist.

“My devoted man-princess,” Noya said, fluttering his eyelashes at Asahi.

“You’re making it seem like _you’re_ the princess here,” Asahi pointed out, gesturing with his free hand to Noya’s eyes. “And for the last time, the word is prince.”

“Do I even want to know what kind of ridiculousness led to the development of the title man-princess?” Daichi asked from the corner of the club room.

“Probably not,” Asahi admitted. “C’mon Nishinoya, let’s go.”

 

Practice was… difficult, to say the least. Noya had taken Asahi’s advice about putting a little weight on his ankle to heart, and was hobbling around practice on one crutch critiquing everyone’s form. On the one hand, it was heartening to see Noya mobile again. On the other, after Noya’s… insinuation, it was hard to focus on volleyball with Noya’s body always in his line of sight and Noya’s voice constantly in his ears. Luckily for Asahi, Tanaka had started shouting back at Noya whenever Noya said something, and Ukai had just about had enough. Noya was sat down on the bench with the stern instruction to ice his ankle and be quiet, and Asahi had a somewhat easier time concentrating after that. Every so often he would peer over at Noya when he was waiting in line for a drill and spend a few moments admiring the view, especially when Noya was fidgeting or stretching in a way that let his shirt hike up a little to reveal the angle of his hip bones or a stripe of skin on his stomach.

“You could be a little less obvious you know,” Suga whispered deviously from behind him as they lined up for receiving practice. “Not that I disapprove of you checking him out, but you could be a little less ‘creepy stalker’ and more ‘seductive glances’ about it. Brevity is the soul of more than just wit.”

“You are going to be the death of me,” Asahi groaned, dragging his eyes away from Noya to give Suga what he hoped was a scathing glare.

“Nice try, but I know too much about you to be intimidated by that face,” Suga told him with a smile, clapping him on the shoulder. Lowering his voice, he continued. “Are you taking him home again today?”

“I don’t know,” Asahi admitted. “He seems pretty mobile on his own at this point.”

“Okay, let me rephrase that. Go home with him tonight. That boy is so thirsty he’s making me feel like _I’m_ the one who hasn’t gotten any in forever just by looking at him. It’s time to make your move.”

Asahi was so caught off guard that he failed to notice he’d made it to the front of the line, and just barely managed to receive the ball that Ukai spiked at him. He retreated to the back of the line resisting the urge to turn and glare daggers at the back of Suga’s head, knowing they wouldn’t have any effect. Suga was right though -- he really did need to do something. Even if he didn’t manage to make it up to Suga’s standards, he knew he had to at least try. The thudding in his chest every time he saw Noya might be the actual death of him otherwise.

Despite knowing that he should do something smooth and flirtatious, at the end of practice, Asahi found himself awkwardly sidling up to Noya, his hand in its customary place anxiously rubbing at the back of his neck.

“Do you still need me to take you home?” Asahi asked.

“Well I could probably walk back just fine, Asahi-san,” Noya admitted, looking up at Asahi. Noya, much to Asahi’s surprise, looked nervous, and Asahi couldn’t help but worry that his inability to respond properly to Noya’s advances (now that he knew that they’d been advances) had discouraged the libero. Asahi looked over Suga, desperate for assurance. Suga caught his eye, smiled at him and gave him a subtle nod.

“Let me rephrase that. Can I take you home Noya?” Asahi asked, wincing a little. It wasn’t exactly romantic or smooth, but it was somewhat forward and that was the best he was able to manage just then. He wanted Noya to show his usual confidence, to be boisterous and loud and affectionate again. He would not let his own self-doubt bring Noya down too,

Noya’s face lit up, and Asahi’s heart soared. “Yeah you can! Will you carry me??”

“If you want me to,” Asahi told him with a gentle smile, offering Noya a hand.

“Hooray! Rides from my steed-man-princess!” Noya shouted, jumping onto Asahi’s back. He glanced over at Suga, who was staring at him with raised eyebrows and an amused smirk. He would have some explaining to do tomorrow, he knew, but he was okay with that for now. Hopefully by tomorrow he would have some exciting news for Suga that didn’t deal with Noya’s embarrassing nicknames.

Noya was practically vibrating with energy as Asahi went to collect their things, putting Noya down briefly to heave their bags over his shoulders before picking him back up and heading for the train station. He did not miss Daichi and Suga’s approving smiles as he exited the club room and carefully maneuvered his way down the stairs, but he chose to ignore them for once. He needed all his concentration not to screw this up. He was no longer with Noya out of the pretense of care, but of interest. That probably meant he had to behave differently, and he was determined to figure out what the proper amount of “different” was.

“You know, you’re really freaking strong Asahi-san,” Noya said as Asahi put him down on the porch of his house. Asahi smiled down at Noya, trying not to breath too hard and ruin the effect of whatever strength Noya seemed to see in him. “I’m impressed, you barely seem to have broken a sweat.” They’d been chatting amicably the whole way home, but Asahi had never found a place to interject anything that resembled flirting into the conversation.

“Don’t give me too much credit, Nishinoya, you tired me out a little,” Asahi said, stepping aside to allow Noya access to the door way.

“Only a little? I guess I’ll have to try harder,” Noya said and oh god did he just _wink_ at Asahi? Asahi went rigid, his mind racing. How was he supposed to respond to that?

“Hey, Asahi-san, are you ok?” Noya asked, turning back to him. His eyebrows were drawn up with worry, which only made Asahi feel worse. His inability to flirt had obviously hurt Noya, and he had no idea how to remedy the situation.

“Uh, well, I… Can I stay a little while? Just to rest before I walk home? It’s kind of a long way,” Asahi asked, hoping he could give himself a little more time to figure things out. Noya’s worried expression melted in an instant, and Asahi allowed himself a little breath of relief. He wasn’t a total failure. Yet.

“Yeah, Asahi-san! My parents aren’t going to be home for a while so if you want dinner we’re going to have to cook, but you can definitely come in!” Asahi’s mind went to his earlier conversation with Suga and Daichi, the word “domestic” echoing in his thoughts. This was a couple-y thing to do. He could make this work, probably.

“Yeah, let’s cook dinner Nishinoya,” Asahi said with a smile, and he swore he’d never seen Noya look more delighted. Asahi’s heart felt warm as he stepped inside the house and helped Noya to the kitchen.

As it turned out, Noya had no idea how to cook, which meant making dinner was a lot of Asahi trying to figure out what to make with the various things Noya’s parents had in the pantry and Noya talking at Asahi while he worked. This was an environment Asahi was comfortable in: he cooked a lot at home, and Noya was far enough away from him most of the time that he couldn’t be too distracted by him. He could just focus on making good food for Noya and showing him he cared in a way that he knew how to -- with food.

“You like Yakisoba, right Nishinoya?” Asahi asked after assembling all the ingredients he had found.

“Can’t we just have ice cream for dinner?” Noya whined from his seat on the countertop. Asahi turned to him and placed a hand on his hip.

“Maybe I’ll take you to get ice cream after dinner, but I can’t let you eat just sugar all day. I saw that you only packed mochi and milk bread for lunch,” Asahi reprimanded. Noya sighed.

“You’re no fun, Asahi-san,” Noya pouted. Then he brightened, and gave Asahi a small, hopeful smile. “Would you really take me out for ice cream?”

“If you actually eat what I make for you,” Asahi said.

“Aw, Asahi-san trying to take care of me,” Noya said, pressing his hand to his heart dramatically. “But aren’t I supposed to be taking care of you, if you’re the princess?”

“I thought we already went over the fact that princesses can care for princes and vice versa?” Asahi teased. “Anyways, it doesn’t have to be one or the other. We can just take care of each other.” Noya fell silent, and his cheeks went red. He’d done the flirting thing, Asahi realized belatedly. Not as suggestive as Suga would have, but he’d done it. Mission success. “So, Yakisoba?”

“I want to watch!” Noya declared, hopping down from the counter and landing on his good foot. Careful to lean part of his weight on the counter, he hobbled over to Asahi, who had put on water to boil and begun to chop vegetables. Noya got up on his toes and pressed his chest against Asahi’s back, trying to see over Asahi’s shoulder. Asahi stiffened, taken by surprise by the sudden warmth he felt at his back and unsure of how to respond. He knew Noya was a touchy person, but he still wasn’t very good at dealing with Noya’s very physical brand of affection. Should he lean back into the touch? Act as if nothing was going on? Turn around and and encourage Noya to get closer?

Before Asahi could decide, Noya had moved away. Asahi turned to look at him, disappointed by the sudden distance.

“I make you uncomfortable, don’t I Asahi-san.” Noya looked at the floor, unwilling to meet Asahi’s eyes. It wasn’t a question.

“No, Nishinoya, it’s not that--” Asahi began, panicking. Of course his response had been taken negatively, of course he’d sent Noya the wrong message. Of course he’d screwed this up.

“You don’t have to lie to me Asahi-san. I should’ve been able to figure it out, really,” Noya said.

“Nishinoya, no, it’s not like that,” Asahi protested, but Noya kept going.

“You get stiff whenever I touch you or try to flirt with you but I kept doing it and now you feel like you have to lie to me to protect my feelings and I hate it.” Noya looked up at Asahi, whose world had been put on pause since the word “flirt” had come out of Noya’s mouth.

“You were flirting with me, Nishinoya?” Asahi repeated, wanting to confirm that he’d heard right.

“Don’t make me say it again, Asahi-san. Can we just pretend this didn’t happen? I’ll stop with all the touching, the… everything! I just don’t want to lose you again.”

“Again?” Asahi echoed. “Nishinoya, you know I would never let something come between us again. You’re never going to lose me.” Noya looked up at Asahi, his eyes wide.

“You… you won’t hold any of this against me?”

“Nishinoya, I think you misunderstand the situation. I don’t mind you flirting with me or touching me because… I, well, I want you to,” Asahi admitted.

“There’s no way,” Noya said, taking a wobbly step away from Asahi. “You get all stiff and uncomfortable when I do that stuff. You need to be honest with me when I mess up Asahi-san. I don’t want any lies.”

“I’m not lying, Nishinoya!” Asahi protested, stepping towards Noya and placing a steadying hand on his waist. “I just… God, how did Daichi put it? I’m hopeless? Yeah, that. I’m hopeless at romance and stuff. At first I was just trying to avoid having my feelings get in the way of taking care of you, but then I starting thinking you might like me back and it made me really nervous and I kept doubting myself and if you liked me and I couldn’t help but get all awkward because Suga told me to flirt with you and I suck at flirting and--”

“Asahi-san, are you telling me you’ve liked me back this whole time?” Noya asked, incredulous. Asahi nodded dumbly. “God Asahi, I’ve been trying to hint to you to ask me out forever! Are you saying if I had been more direct about it we could’ve been dating like… a long time ago?”

“Uhm. Yes?”

“God we’re such idiots,” Noya groaned, cupping his face in his hands in exasperation. Then he dropped his hands away and looked up at Asahi, a wicked grin on his face. Before Asahi could react, Noya leapt up and wrapped his arms and legs around Asahi. His lips met Asahi’s and Asahi’s heart leapt into his throat, and he barely managed to get himself together enough to kiss back. Noya’s mouth was insistent on his, and Asahi was happy to respond, pressing their lips together tenderly, if not a little messily. After a few moments, Noya pulled away and looked at Asahi with a smirk.

“You know Asahi, if you want to grab my ass again, I wouldn’t mind right now,” Noya said, gesturing with his chin to Asahi’s arms, which remained limp at his sides.

“This is so much easier when you’re direct with me,” Asahi told him, reaching his hands down to cup Noya’s butt and push the smaller boy up closer to his lips.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Noya said with a wicked smile. Asahi rolled his eyes but leaned down to kiss Noya again. He was hyper aware of where their bodies were in contact, Noya’s chest pressed against his, Noya’s thighs squeezing his waist, his arms around his neck, his hands on Noya’s ass. Noya really did have a nice ass, Asahi decided, squeezing it some as he opened his mouth and deepened their kiss. Noya’s tongue made its way into Asahi’s mouth with stunning speed, but for once Asahi didn’t find himself unprepared. Opening his eyes, he walked toward the counter and put Noya down, freeing his hands to tangle in Noya’s hair and pull him even closer. Noya pulled away to look at Asahi for a brief moment, his gaze thoughtful.

“Hair. Down. Now.”

The order sent a shiver down Asahi’s spine, and warmth settled heavily in the pit of his stomach. Asahi scrambled to pull his hair out of its bun. Noya’s fingers tangled in the long brown strands, pulling Asahi in closer and locking their lips together. Asahi took the chance to explore with his now free hands, running his palms under Noya’s shirt and along Noya’s back and sides, feeling the lean muscle there. Just when his hands began to drift back down towards Noya’s ass did Asahi hear a hissing sound, and he pulled away with an irritated tsk as he realized they still had things on the stove. Luckily, the only thing they’d had on was the water, which had begun to boil over, which was unlikely to do major damage to the kitchen. Asahi quickly detangled himself from Noya and turned off the stove, taking the moment to catch his breath. Holy shit, he thought as he glanced around the kitchen to check for other hazards. Noya liked him. He’d made out with Noya. Holy shit. Did this mean Suga would be proud of him now?

“Asahi-san, I hope you’re not just going to leave me here all turned on like this,” Noya drawled from the other side of the kitchen. Asahi paused. Turned on? His attention drew inward, and he realized that, he, too, was experiencing the beginnings of arousal. Was that okay? Was it too early to be doing sexual things? Goodness knew he wanted to, but he didn’t want to rush things with Noya. What if Noya thought he just wanted him for his body? What if their relationship turned into just sex?

“Asahi-san,” Noya called again, sounding worried. “You know, we don’t have to keep going if you don’t want to, I know we just started… whatever this is.”

Asahi turned around to meet Noya’s gaze. “No, I want to… do… things with you, Nishinoya. I just don’t want you to think I just want sexual stuff. Or for our relationship could turn into something purely sexual.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I… care about you too much for that.”

“Asahi-san, I think we both are too into one another romantically for that to happen,” Noya said. “But if you want to stop, I can respect that.”

“I don’t really want to stop, I just didn’t want to send the wrong message,” Asahi said, worry apparent in his voice. Noya’s face softened, and he held out his arms to Asahi.

“Come here,” Noya said, beckoning Asahi toward him. Asahi shuffled forward and allowed him to be drawn into Noya’s arms. “I really really like you Asahi. I know I’ve been an idiot about showing it, but I care about you as a person, sexual stuff or no. Okay?”

“I really like you too, Nishinoya,” Asahi murmured into Noya’s shoulder. He lifted his head to look Noya in the eye. “I know I’m not good at showing it either, but I can get better at it, okay? I just want to take care of you, and have you care for me.”

“Oh come here you big sap,” Noya giggled, leaning forward for another kiss. Asahi leaned into the embrace, pushing his tongue forward through Noya’s lips, searching. Noya pulled back with a gasp.

“You know if you don’t want to turn me on Asahi-san, that’s not the way to do it,” Noya reprimanded. Asahi gave him an uncharacteristically mischievous smile.

“Whoever said I wasn’t trying to turn you on?” Asahi asked. Noya’s eyebrows shot up, and his hands found Asahi’s waist and pulled him even closer as they came together for another kiss. Noya wrapped his legs around Asahi’s waist and pressed himself flush against Asahi’s torso, his fingers mapping the muscles in Asahi’s back. Pulling away from their kiss with another deep breath, Noya’s lips migrated south, decorating Asahi’s jaw and neck with sloppy kisses. Then, Asahi felt the gentle press of Noya’s teeth on the side of his throat, and he was pretty sure he’d never felt quite as hot as he did in that moment. Making a sound deep in his throat, Asahi picked Noya back up and cupped his hands under Noya’s ass, feeling the firm flesh through the fabric of Noya’s pants.

“I’m taking us upstairs,” Asahi panted. Noya gave no sound of complaint as Asahi moved them, focusing instead on leaving angry red hickeys on Asahi’s neck and collarbone that he was sure to get hell for in the morning. Once they made it to Noya’s room, Asahi deposited Noya on the bed and climbed over top of him. His hair hung down creating a curtain around their faces, and for a moment they just looked at each other, marveling at the other’s face. Then, Noya brought his knee up to Asahi’s groin and gently rubbed it, eliciting a groan from Asahi.

“Hey, how far are you willing to go?” Noya asked.

“I’ll tell you when I want you to stop,” Asahi managed through a gasp as Noya adjusted the angle of his knee between Asahi’s legs.

“Get under me,” Noya commanded. Asahi flipped them without a second thought, the command going straight to his dick. Noya pressed a long kiss to Asahi’s mouth and whispered “I’m going to take care of you” into his ear before moving downward, kissing along Asahi’s jaw and the hickies he’d left on Asahi’s neck.

“Shirt off,” Noya instructed, and Asahi scrambled to remove the offending article of clothing. Noya inhaled sharply at the sight, and Asahi couldn’t tell if he felt vulnerable or admired in the moment as Noya raked his eyes over his bare torso.

“Hey, could you take yours off too?” Asahi asked. He felt admired, he decided, and he wanted to be able to do the same for Noya. Noya pulled his shirt off without a second thought, and Asahi reached out to caress the pale skin of Noya’s chest. His fingers stopped at a nipple and brushed over it, making Noya writhe with pleasure.

“Not right now, Asahi-san,” Noya said, moving Asahi’s hands away from his chest. “I want to take care of you first.” Then he ducked down and scooted backwards, pushing Asahi’s knees apart and settling between them.

“Nishinoya, you don’t have to--”

“I want to, Asahi,” Noya said. “Do you want me to?” Asahi nodded, touched to hear his name without the honorific. It was suitably intimate for the situation, and he liked it. “Okay, then let me do this.” Without any further ceremony, Noya unbuttoned Asahi’s pants and pulled them down, exposing the thin fabric of his boxers. Reaching out, he ran a hand over the tent in the fabric, feeling the length and thickness of Asahi’s cock. Asahi was very grateful in that moment that he was pretty well endowed. Licking his lips, Noya slowly tugged at the waistband of Asahi’s underwear, allowing his dick to spring free of the confines of the fabric. Before Asahi could get in a word edgewise about how Noya _really_ didn’t have to do this, Noya took the head of Asahi’s dick into his mouth and swirled his tongue around the tip. Asahi gasped and his hips bucked, seeking more of the wet heat of Noya’s mouth. Noya pulled off with a lewd pop and grinned at Asahi.

“Patience, Asahi. I’ll take care of you, just give me time.” With that, he returned his attention to Asahi’s dick, licking long stripes up the shaft before taking it back into his mouth. Asahi moaned as Noya hollowed his cheeks and began to suck, bobbing his head up and down. Asahi grasped at the sheets of Noya’s bed, determined not to grab Noya’s head and force it down on his cock. Patience, Asahi, he reminded himself. Patience.

But it was hard to be patient with Noya’s lips around his dick, the flat of Noya’s tongue rubbing on his shaft and Noya’s hands caressing the parts his mouth couldn’t reach. Asahi keened and writhed as Noya pleasured him, slowly, gently, with such reverence that Asahi might’ve cried if it hadn’t been for how fucking good it felt, and how much more of it he wanted. After several minutes of this, Noya, too, seemed to have decided the slow pace was not enough, and began moving his mouth faster, using his tongue more thoroughly, rubbing more intensely. Then, he reached up and pulled Asahi’s hands down toward his head. Asahi needed no more encouragement, tangling his fingers in Noya’s hair and thrusting up with his hips. He did his best to be gentle, but Noya didn’t seem to be having any difficulty, and it was not long until Asahi felt himself reaching the edge.

“Nishi-- Yuu, I’m gonna…”

Noya lifted his head so only the very tip of Asahi’s dick remained between his lips and looked Asahi in the eye for a brief moment. Then, he ducked back down and continued to suck. _Oh_ , Asahi thought, realizing Noya’s intent. He didn’t have much time to feel bad about it, though, because with a few more thrusts into Noya’s mouth he was coming hard, overcome with more pleasure than he’d ever felt on his own. He bit his lip to hold back a loud moan, shuddering with an attempt to control himself as Noya swallowed him down.

“You don’t need to hold back, Asahi,” Noya told him when he was done, wiping his mouth. “Next time, I want to hear you, okay?” Asahi was still weak from his orgasm, and only managed a feeble nod. However, the words “next time” were not lost on him. He was struck with realization for probably the twentieth time that day as it occurred to him there would be a next time. Noya and him were… together. The very thought gave Asahi energy, and he wasted no time flipping them back over and pulling Noya’s pants and boxers down. Noya and him were together. He would get to take care of Noya, and Noya would take care of him. He took Noya’s cock into his mouth with all the enthusiasm that thought brought him, and Noya responded with a loud groan. Noya wasted no time tangling his fingers in Asahi’s hair and tugging Asahi’s head the way he wanted it, which only made Asahi suck harder on Noya’s length. He loved pleasing Noya, he decided as he listened to Noya’s loud gasps and groans above him.

Maybe because Asahi was not trying to take things slow, Noya did not last nearly as long as Asahi, and it was only a few minutes until Noya was stuttering out a warning to Asahi. Asahi paid no mind, determined to return the favor as Noya spilled in his mouth. He swallowed hard, wrinkling his nose a little at the taste.

“Wow, that was… Wow, Asahi,” Noya gasped, tugging Asahi up towards his face. Asahi complied happily, shifting to the side so he could lie next to Noya and wrap an arm around him.

“Did I do alright?” Asahi asked, ever the worrier.

“Alright? That was the best fucking orgasm I’ve ever had,” Noya exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air. Asahi blushed and buried his face in Noya’s chest. “Oh come on, don’t get embarrassed now Asahi, we just had each other’s dicks in our mouths.”

“You’re making it worse, Nishinoya,” Asahi muttered into Noya’s sternum. Noya’s skin was surprisingly soft, and he nuzzled into it, making contented sounds as he did so.

“Sorry, sorry,” Noya said, shifting to move Asahi closer. Asahi threw his other arm around Noya, loving the feeling of just holding him.

“So are we like… boyfriends now?” Asahi asked after a few moments of comfortable silence. Asahi could feel Noya’s quick intake of breath beneath him.

“Yeah, I’d say we are,” Noya agreed.

“Yay,” Asahi whispered, tightening his grip around Noya.

“You’re like a teddy bear, so cuddly,” Noya said, humming happily.

“Please don’t call me that,” Asahi pleaded, lifting his head to peer up at Noya.

“Why not? It’s true,” Noya scoffed.

“Because Daichi calls me that and I don’t like being reminded of Daichi in intimate situations,” Asahi muttered. Noya laughed.

“Oh man, what are Daichi and Suga going to do when they find out about us? They should be scared that they’re going to be replaced as the team power couple.”

“They’ll probably give me high fives,” Asahi admitted. “Suga, and more recently Daichi, has been on me about this for a while.”

“Oh man, Suga has been on you? No wonder you’ve been so goddamn bashful, Suga’s suggestions for what counts as intimate make me blush,” Noya chortled, his whole body quaking with laughter.

“No kidding,” Asahi grumbled.

“But nevermind that, I’m hungry as fuck. What was it you said you were going to make, Yakisoba?” Noya asked, carding his fingers through Asahi’s hair.

“I’m not going to do anything if you keep doing that,” Asahi warned, leaning into Noya’s touch. Noya laughed and pulled away. “I can pet you later, let’s get dressed and make food. I’m starved.”

They pulled their clothes back on quickly, but when Asahi moved to tie his hair back up Noya caught his wrist in his hand. “Don’t, it looks nice like that,” Noya told him. Asahi blushed, and ducked his head. Then Noya added: “Plus my parents will be home soon and I gave you a _lot_ of hickeys.”

“Nishinoya!” Asahi groaned.

 

Dinner was about as hectic as Asahi had expected it to be, with Noya hovering over him at every step demanding to know what Asahi was doing. However, Asahi had near endless patience with Noya, and took the time to explain each step as he did it. They stopped every so often to give each other warm, gentle kisses, until Asahi (always Asahi) pulled away to keep an eye on the pans sizzling on the stove. They finished and Noya hobbled to the dining room while Asahi plated their food, giving him a few moments to decompress from the whole experience. His whole body was abuzz with warmth and happiness, and he couldn’t help but look down with pride at the meal he’d made. He’d taken good care of Noya today. And, he decided as he brought the plates out to his very excited boyfriend, he wanted to keep taking care of him for as long as he could.

  
~~Asahi wore his hair down the next day. Suga guessed why immediately, and Asahi did in fact receive two very enthusiastic high fives from his tormentors.~~

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaand that's all folks! My first time writing smut, so please go easy on me! I hope you guys enjoyed, and keep an eye out in the future for more AsaNoya from yours truly! :D
> 
> Talk haikyuu to me on tumblr @bisexual-bokuto
> 
> This fic now has a lovely [fan art!](http://just-emerald.tumblr.com/post/137383408386/have-u-read-lean-on-me-by-azumane-asaahi-bcuz)!


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